


Dance with Me?

by MagicalMysteryGirl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor - Fandom
Genre: Awesome Darcy Lewis, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Dancing, Darcy knows what's up, F/M, Kids love Darcy, Steve Is a Good Bro, Swing Dancing, Walking on Sunshine, shut up and dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:17:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7621684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalMysteryGirl/pseuds/MagicalMysteryGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a party Darcy has been planning for weeks. Bucky wishes he could enjoy it as much as everyone else, but he doesn't really dance, not the way people dance these days anyway.  Darcy decides to show him that just because the music is different, doesn't mean you have to dance different too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance with Me?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Bucky/Darcy story I had sitting around. I thought I'd throw it up here just for fun and see what other people think!  
> Hope you all enjoy it!

“Remind me again how you managed to convince me to come to this thing?” Bucky grumbled as he glanced around at the throngs of children and their parents that surrounded them.

Steve glanced over at him with a smirk, “All _I_ said was Darcy was going to be here,” he tilted his head with a shrug of his lips, “You’re the one who convinced you.”

Bucky frowned as his eyes instinctively moved back to the brunette in question where she danced in a crowd of kids, her hands high in the air and her high ponytail swaying. He said nothing as he tracked the younger woman’s movements across the dancefloor. She’d gone to great pains to make these kids feel happy and excited at the party tonight and her success shown on every face Bucky could see.

The party was a superhero themed charity event for at-risk kids and teens that Darcy had been planning for weeks. She’d reserved an entire area of Central Park (something he hadn’t known you could do, but then again, with Stark’s name and money backing her up Darcy was a force of nature) and the entire day had been spent playing games, eating food and partying. As night had approached Bucky had half expected the party to be over, instead it had turned into some kind of dance party, Christmas lights lit up a large makeshift dance floor and loud music blared from speakers all over the place.

All day Darcy had been right in the middle of the chaos, laughing, smiling and having a good time. When she’d first approached the Avengers about attending, not many had been willing to go, public outings were not really anyone’s thing unless their name was Tony, but as she poked and prodded in a way only Darcy could, slowly each and every one of them had agreed to come. Watching Darcy now it wasn’t hard to understand why.  She was the heart of the team, everyone was protective and affectionate towards the little civilian who stole their hearts and any excuse to make her happy would not go to waste.

Even when she had forced superhero themed t-shirts on all of them and refused to hear any complaining they were all willing to do as she asked. Tony gave a token protest when he was handed a Captain America t-shirt, but Bruce had shut him up by taking the shirt and switching it with the Hulk one Bucky had been given.  Bucky now wore a Captain America t-shirt, Tony the Hulk, Steve wore an Iron Man shirt, Bruce wore Thor’s, Thor wore a Hawkeye themed shirt, while Clint wore a shirt that was black except for one sleeve that was silver with a red star on the shoulder.

Bucky had been stunned to see a shirt meant to represent _him_ being thrown in with a bunch of shirts meant to represent heroes. But Clint had smirked at him as if he could read his mind, and put the shirt on proudly (something about how Bucky Barnes had been one of the reasons he’d become a sharpshooter in the first place may have been said, but sometimes he didn’t like to think about who the world thought he was when the reality of who he is is so much more complicated).

Even Sam and Rhodey had shown up for the party, each wearing a t-shirt depicting the other’s hero costumes. Natasha and Wanda had both shown up dressed in clothes themed after the other, Natasha wearing black skinny jeans, a white tank top with the Scarlet Witch symbol on the front and a red leather jacket while Wanda was wearing a black one shouldered cocktail dress with the Widow red hourglass on a belt around her waist.

And then there was Darcy; she’d worn them all. Dressed in a comic book dress styled after a forties party dress with thin straps over the shoulders, Darcy was a hit with all the kids who had followed her around all day reading the various Avenger comic strips she’d incorporated into her dress and giggling.  

Bucky could tell from the expressions on everyone’s faces as they’d arrived this morning that today had been a day none of them had expected to enjoy, yet as he glanced around the crowd in a habitual scan, locating them all instinctively, he could see that they were all relaxed and enjoying themselves none the less. Even Bucky himself had been enjoying watching the activities right up until the sun had begun its decent and the dance party on the floor had begun.

Old pre-war Bucky would have been one of the first on the dance floor, but today’s Bucky, the post-war, post-HYDRA Bucky, was neither comfortable in large crowds nor familiar with any of the dances happening on the dance floor which only served to make him feel worse. He was tired and uncomfortable, but despite his best efforts, part of him still longed to be out there, dancing his cares away, swinging a beautiful dame around in his arms.

There was just something intimate about dancing that Bucky missed. The complete trust the partners had to show one another to swing and jive like he enjoyed was something he missed more than anything. Sure he trusted his teammates, but something told him none of them would be willing to dance with him. There was only one woman he wanted to dance with these days anyway.

He smiled a little to himself as he watched Darcy stoop to pick up a small boy and begin to waltz dramatically with him around the dance floor area.

Darcy Lewis was like a hurricane, swirling and blasting her way into his life and his heart with an ease that still threw him off balance if he thought about it too long. When he’d first met her he’d been in the middle of a nightmare; he’d snuck out of the shared apartment in the Avengers Tower a knife in hand and found his way to the kitchen where music was playing and a loud voice was singing beautifully. In his mind he was back to being a HYDRA asset, a weapon sent to kill in the name of protecting the friends he’d tentatively begun making in the Tower.

The first thing that had prodded the idea that maybe this dream wasn’t entirely real and that the woman wasn’t a threat was the animated dinosaurs on her pajama pants, one leg of which was bunched up to mid-calf. Her hair was up in a crazy bun and she was hopping back and forth from foot to foot in time to the music singing along to the music with a batter covered whisk as her microphone.

In a smooth move the woman had twirled around only to freeze abruptly as she noticed him watching her. They’d stared at each other for a long time before she spoke, offering her name and position in the tower. With little effort on her part she’d woken him up and talked him down and then held him as he’d broken down in shameful tears as he realized how far gone he’d been.  She’d offered him some of her homemade brownies to make him feel better and had unknowingly started a nightly tradition.

Over the last year that he’d been living in the Tower their dessert nights had evolved into movie marathons, witty banter that made him feel like himself again and a surprising friendship that lifted his spirits when nothing else could.  Steve was the first and only person Bucky had told when he’d discovered his growing affection for the younger woman, and even then it had been a result of Steve’s absent observation about the familiarity of old-Bucky’s falling-in-love ritual.

After poking and prodding for months, Bucky had finally admitted his feelings to himself and a few weeks later to Steve (who practically did a happy dance with amused relief at Bucky finally seeing what was staring them both in the face the whole time, the punk). The teasing and knowing looks had been constant since then. A subtle matchmaker Steve was not, and Darcy and Bucky were both more than aware of his attempts to push them both together. If you had asked him a month ago whether he thought it was even remotely possible Darcy felt for him the same way he felt for her he would have reluctantly admitted that the odds weren’t very good. But over the last month or so something had been building between them, a sort of anticipation that Bucky recognized but didn’t remember completely.  Something was coming, a change between them that Bucky wasn’t sure he was ready to face.

“You were enjoying yourself a while back,” Steve’s voice brought him back to the present. A quick glance told him Steve had noticed his zone out but wasn’t concerned about it, “What changed?”

Bucky shrugged, smirking as he caught sight of Wanda weaving her way through the crowd towards them, “Don’t know Punk,” he brushed off the question, “Why don’t you stop trying to match-make me and Lewis and focus on your own admirer,” he nodded towards Wanda and gave Steve a knowing look as he notice the light blush dusting Steve’s cheeks at the insinuation. Yeah, he wasn’t the only one with a crush.

“What are you two fellas up to?” Darcy’s voice distracted Bucky immediately, pulling his head around to look down at the beautiful brunette who had approached them when he wasn’t looking.

Allowing his smirk to stay in place, Bucky tilted his head at Steve, “Just pointing out Wanda headed Stevie’s way is all,” he commented smoothly.

Darcy glanced over in the direction he’d indicated and grinned a little, “Poor Stevie,” she cooed, patting Steve’s arm patronizingly, “Wanda is going to eat you alive.”

Dragging his eyes away from where Darcy’s hand rested on Steve’s arm and stomping on the sudden desire for Darcy to touch him that way, Bucky laughed a little, “I think he’ll be more than glad to let her Doll,” he returned, speaking as if Steve weren’t there at all.

Steve shot them both a patented Captain-America-is-not-amused look, but it didn’t work on either one of them anymore and simply set them both laughing, “She’s too young,” Steve tried to disagree, his eyes flickering to where Wanda was drawing ever closer.

“Dude,” Darcy scoffed, “Unless you are into dating dead people there aren’t a whole lotta options for guys your age,” she shoved Steve in Wanda’s direction, “Now go ask the girl to dance.”

Eyes widening at the suggestion, Bucky could practically feel the panic that radiated from Steve at the suggestion, “Go on Punk, we both know you want to. Man up.”

Steve’s eyes flickered between Darcy and Bucky and he opened his mouth to say something only to be cut off by Wanda appearing at his side with a small smile, “Steve,” she greeted him warmly, giving Bucky and Darcy a quick acknowledging nod before refocusing on the deer-in-headlights expression on Steve’s face, “There is a glow-in-the-dark game of Frisbee about to start over in the field,” she gestured vaguely to some part of the park that wasn’t lit in twinkling lights, “and some of the kids wanted me to ask if you would come and play.”

Appearing relieved that she wasn’t asking him to dance, Steve nodded immediately, “Of course,” he agreed, “Sounds like fun actually!” he sent Bucky a look that he didn’t quite catch and turned to go off with Wanda. Bucky couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Steve’s head snap down to look at Wanda in surprise as she took his hand in hers as they walked away.

“Punk’s got it bad,” he commented mostly to himself.

“Seems to be catching,” Darcy agreed from his side.  Bucky glanced down at her with a warm look, feeling his heart beat a little faster at the sight of her upturned face before he managed to regain control, “So what do you say?” she asked a second later, catching him off guard as she held a hand out to him, “Think you’re up for a dance Soldier-boy?”

Bucky stared at her and her hand for a second longer than was probably polite, but he was too surprised to stop himself, “You want to dance with me?” he heard himself ask, though he didn’t remember deicing to actually speak the words out loud.

Darcy laughed, a warm bubbly sound that made his stomach swoop with pleasure, “Rumor has it you were quite the Ducky Shincracker back in the day,” her eyes twinkled with amusement as she stared up at him, “Or is it a _Bucky_ Shincracker?” she tapped her chin as if genuinely wondering about it.

“Now where did you hear talk like that Doll?” he couldn’t help but wonder.

Smile softening a little Darcy shrugged, “When a girl is interested in a guy she normally tries to find out things about him. Forties slang is just a small piece to the complicated puzzle that is James Buchanan Barnes.”

Stunned at the bold declaration of her feelings, Bucky stilled for a long moment before his mind began racing with all sorts of different meanings for what Darcy had said. Again without his consent his words slipped out of his mouth before he could control them, “Interested?” he repeated. Well, no one had ever said he was verbose.

Darcy ducked her head and nodded. She surprised him again by reaching out and taking his flesh and in hers, “More than just a little bit,” she admitted softy.

Convulsively tightening his grip on her hand, Bucky hesitated a moment too long once more as he processed this new development. As he watched Darcy’s shoulders stiffened and her eyes dimmed just a little but her smile didn’t waver, “So what do you say Solider? Take a girl for a spin?”

Licking his lips nervously, Bucky glanced at the throng of people on the dancefloor, “Afraid I don’t know how to do any of your kind of dances,” he indicated where a kid was currently doing some sort of head bobbing, finger snapping, shoulder rolling, side stepping thing.

Darcy’s smile turned encouraging, “Then maybe you should do your kind of dancing then,” she suggested. Then, without waiting for his consent she snagged his hand and dragged him behind her towards the dancefloor.

Silently following her, curious about what she meant and only slightly wary about it, he allowed his longing to dance again and his desire to be near Darcy guide him as he came to a stop with her in the middle of the dancefloor.  Turning around to face him Darcy still didn’t let go of his hand as she began bobbing her head and singing along to some song about walking on sunshine. Reaching out to take his other hand in hers, Darcy began to bob a little shifting around in a series of moves that felt vaguely familiar.

Watching her carefully Bucky began to realize why. As her eyes lifted to meet his he couldn’t help but stare at her in surprise and a little wonder, “You gonna lead me or what? Don’t tell me I’ve gone and found myself a dead hoofer instead of the Ducky dude I was lookin’ for.”

Bucky hesitated only a moment longer, taking stock of their surroundings and the location of his team before meeting her eyes determinedly, “Doll, I ain’t no dead hoofer,” he stated, pulling her close to him to murmur in her ear, “I’m going to blow your socks of, kitten, you better hold on.”

Pulling back just a little Darcy laughed, “I’m countin’ on it Solider,” she returned with a wink, “Now, show me whatcha got,” she pulled back and spun herself around in time with the music, her feet picking up the pace.

Feeling a genuine grin spread his lips, Bucky allowed himself a second longer to find the slightly hidden beat in the music. Once the rhythm was found he shifted a little and took a deep breath before throwing himself into the music with abandon.

Surprising Darcy as he whipped her around in a series of quick moves, he was pleased when he managed to catch her eye and found her staring back at him with a wide grin and the trust he’d been looking for since before the war. Pushing and pulling as he danced the both of them around with an ease that surprised even him considering how long it had been since he’d last danced, he laughed as she kept up with every single move he made with ease, feeling truly lighthearted for the first time in decades.

Unaware of the crowd gathering around them as they gave a show worthy of professional dancers, Bucky’s attention was one hundred percent on Darcy. Just an hour or so ago he’d convinced himself that it was for the best that he didn’t pursue whatever it was floating between them, but this moment, dancing with her, embracing the trust she offered him and the laughter she shared, he couldn’t deny that it would feel real nice to just give in; to take everything she was offering, whether he thought he deserved it or not.

Darcy certainly seemed willing. She didn’t care about his past as a murderer for HYDRA, nor did she ever appear bothered by his metal arm. She’d been known to cuddle up into his left side just as frequently as his right without hesitation.  If her words just a few minutes ago were anything to go by she was definitely interested in exploring this thing between them.

As the song faded from one song into another Bucky pulled Darcy to him and sent her into a fantastic dip that made her drop her head back and laugh as their audience clapped. His eyes caught on the long line of her pale throat and he felt the overwhelming desire to kiss it; to kiss _her_. Swinging her back up he tugged her firmly into his torso and stared down at her, his arms banding tightly around her waist to keep her from moving away.

Blue eyes searched blue as they both tried to figure out what the other was thinking. Seeing the hidden sadness that grew in Darcy’s eyes the longer he watched her without doing or saying anything made up his mind.  Pulling back from her enough to take her hand in his, it was his turn to pull her off the dancefloor and away from the on looking crowd.  Once he felt they were far enough away from the noise, standing under a large tree with a single strand of white Christmas lights wrapped around its lower branches, he came to a stop and turned around to look at her.

He could see her confusion and slowly building hope as he watched her, taking in every second of this moment. His eyes flickered to her lips and he unconsciously found himself licking his own in anticipation of what was to come.

He’d decided. He wanted her. He _wanted_ to want her. And she wanted him, so the only thing holding them back now was—

He kissed her. It was short and light at first, intended to alert her to his feelings and give her the chance to pull away from him on the off chance he’d read this whole situation wrong, but when he pulled back she whined a cute little protest and shoved her hands into his hair to yank him back down to her.

Backing her up against the trunk of the tree, Bucky made sure that this kiss was instantly different. This kiss was deep, it was passionate, it felt…like a storm had broken and cool water was now falling to the ground, soaking and healing the parched soil of his soul. Kissing Darcy was like finding the eye of the storm that she brought with her everywhere she went. It was warm and sweet, a little dark and absolutely perfect.

He would never get enough of this.

Pulling back as he realized she was giving short gasps for air in between kisses he nuzzled her nose with his as he rested their foreheads together. The peace and contentment he felt in that moment was something he couldn’t remember ever feeling, even back when he was a kid and his world had been just about as perfect as it was ever going to be.

“About time,” Darcy breathed a moment later.

Huffing a small amused laugh, Bucky pulled back and offered her a small but sincere smile, “I don’t deserve you,” he told her seriously, his smile fading to an earnest expression as he tried to communicate the depth of what he was saying, “I’ve done so many things in my life that there is no redemption for. And you…” he shook his head, “You’re this ray of light in the darkness that surrounds me,” he gave a small laugh as he caught sight of Tony and Sam conversing a ways away out of the corner of his eye, “that surrounds the whole team. You bring so much good into our lives—into _my_ life. I don’t want to take that away from you, and I’m terrified that if I let you the rest of the way in,” he swallowed, he didn’t typically talk a whole lot, let alone share his feelings but this was important, she needed to understand, “If I let you in, and if you let me keep you, even for a little while,” he shook his head fervently, “I’ll never let you go. I’ll never let you go and it could destroy us both.”

There was silence between them for a long minute as Darcy stared up at him with glassy eyes, “And what if it doesn’t?” she asked softly, breaking the silence. She swallowed and bit her lip as she glanced away from him for a second to gather herself, “What if it doesn’t destroy us, what if we turn out to be exactly what the other needs?” she blinked up at him and a slow gentle smile spread across her lips, “What if you and I end up living happily ever after?”

She shifted a little to wrap her arms around his waist and pull herself closer to his chest, “Our lives are never going to be normal Bucky,” she murmured, “You’ve got that hero gene, and I’ve gone and made myself a family out of your teammates; there’s always going to be risks in our lives. It’s just what we do.  Either one of us could destroy the other, but it isn’t the end result that matters the most. Not this time, it’s the journey to get there.”

Her arms squeezed around him in a quick hug, “Frankly, I’m falling in love with you James Buchanan Barnes,” she admitted bluntly, “And if you even remotely feel the same—“

“I do!” he interrupted quickly, his heart thudding double time at her admission, “I do feel the same,” he repeated more softly, “You are the most important person in my life Darcy,” he told her softly, his hand lifting to brush away a stray strand of hair, “And I don’t think I’m strong enough to push you away or give you up.”

A wide open grin grew in response to his words, “Well thank Thor for that!” she stated, “Because the destroying each other thing?” she paused, “That would only happen if you gave up on this without even giving it a shot.”

“Giving things a shot is what I’m known for,” he commented, pleased when she gave a laugh.

“You didn’t not just make a sniper joke,” Darcy chuckled as she gave him a light shove to switch their positions so now it was his back hitting the tree trunk.

He smirked, “Afraid so Doll,” he murmured, his attention returning to her lips. Feeling a remnant of the old Bucky rising he cocked his head to the side a little, “And since I’m all for giving this thing between us a shot, what do you say to being my girl?” his head tilted down a little to move closer to her.

Instinctively tilting her head back to make kissing easier Darcy hummed, “Only if that makes you my guy,” she shifted just enough to make it so their lips brushed against each other as she spoke, her cool breath ghosting over his lips tasting like chocolate and caramel.

“Doll,” he spoke lowly, “If you let me kiss you, I’ll be anythin’ you want.”

He felt her lips twitch with a small smile just before her words ghosted over his lips, “Deal,” she agreed, sealing their lips together almost before she finished speaking.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment to let me know what you thought! Liked it? Loved it? Neither? Tell me all about it in the comments! (Comments feed the muse, seriously, the thing is starving!)


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